Safety device fob ships



M. J. CHRISTENSEN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SHIPS, I APPLICATION FILED OCT. 18. 1,918. 1,307,040, Patented June 17, 1919.

Z SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. CHRISTENSEN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SHIPS, APPLIICATION FILED OCT. 18.1918.

PatentedJuhe 17, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2' 1H: NoRn/s PETERS m. PHOIU-LIIHCL, wAsHIHG TON L era MARTIN J. CHRISTENSEN,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 FRANK B. SEBOLT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June JW, 1919.

Application filed October 18, 1918. Serial No. 258,720.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN J. CHRISTEN- snN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventcdcertain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Ships, of which the following is a specification. 1

My invention relates to safety devices for ships and has for its primary object the provision of improved means for keeping a vessel afloat by arresting the inrush of water through a hole such as may be torn below the waterline by explosion or collision.

A further object is the provision of an improved construction and arrangement of parts for such a device, whereby it may be quickly handled and may also be rolled into very compact form, while being so braced, when unrolled, as to withstand the inward pressure of the water when in operative position against the hull opposite a hole torn therein below the water line.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accolnpanying drawings which form a part of this specification and illustrate the preferred form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the hull of a vessel, showing my invention in operative position opposite a hole appearing in dotted lines below the waterline.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the cradle and safety sheet of the invention illustrating .the

compact arrangement of these parts when the sheet is rolled, and showing parts of the cradle handling apparatus.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary outer side elevation of the metal skeleton of a safety sheet,

illustrating section portions of the waterproofing material. supported thereby. I

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the skeleton shown in Fig. 1 and is partly sectioned on line 5' '5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the safety sheet'taken approximately on line 6-6-of Fig. 5 and with the central portion of the sheet broken away.

Reference numeral 10 in Figs. 1 and 2 indicates the hull of a floating vessel and 11 its water line.- M512, below the water line,

is shown a hole torn in the hull, as by an explosion or collision. A davit 13, supported from the deck 14, carries a pulley block 15 through which passes a hoisting line 16 operated in any suitable manner, as, for example, by a winch 17- positioned on the deck and receiving the inboard end of the line. Swung from its middle, by an eye 18 on the outboard end of the hoisting line, is a bail 19 in which an elongated, semi-cylindrical cradle 21 is pivoted on a horizontal axis sub stantially coincident with the outer side 20 of the cradle, the ends of the bail being bent to form a pair of alined eyes each of which receives a pivot 22 projecting outwardly from an end of the cradle. A dumping line 23 is secured by its ends to the outer side of the cradle, passes beneath the latter, and is looped over a hook 24 swung from the middle of bail 19. A trip line 25 has its outboard end secured to the middle of the dumping line, passes over the rail 25' of thevesscl, and wrapped about winch 17.

Fastcned by its upper horizontal edgeto the outer side 20 of the cradle is a water proof web or safety sheet generally indicated by numeral 26. This sheet comprises an impervious blanket 27 maintained in stretched condition by lateral hollow steel struts 28 all of which lie on the outer side of the blanket and at their ends only are secured to the vertical side cables 29 of the blanket by means of U-bolts 31 the legs of which pass diametricallv through the struts and carry nuts 32 for binding the struts and side cables fixedly together. At each juncture of a strut and a side cable, an auxiliary cable33 bridges the strut and has its ends secured. to the side cable above and below the strut, thus leaving between each auxiliary cable and the side around each side cable; and by relatively lighter and more,fiexible, spaced, vertical weft Wires 35 woven through the warp wires. The interwoven warp and weft wires support and are embedded in an impervious aft-ibis filling 36 of vulcanized rubber and canvas, the latter preferably being soformed as to. expose an inner surface 37 of pure rubber on the side of the safety sheet next the vessel and an outer surface 38 of canvas to the water. The safetv sheet is sufiicientlyflexible to admit of its being rolled up about its lower. edge and carried in the cradle when not 1n use.

In the use of my invention, following the.

puncturing of the vessels hull, the cradle containing the safety sheet is rolled on a truck, or carried to that portion of the deck rail above the leak and the bail 191s secured on the outboard end of hoistin line 16, the inboard end being. wrapped tightly about winch 17 which latter may be operated in any. suitable and wel:l'known manner. The

tri) line 25 is now connected to dunnin 15 line 23, and the winch and davit 13' are operated to hoist the cradle over the side and lower it sulliciently to position the safety sheet, when dumped, opposite hole 1 2. During. the. lowering of the cradle the trip li'ne is. givenv several loose turns about the re votving winchin a. direction. oppositecto that in which. the hoisting linewrapped, the winch idling, freely within the turns ofthe trip line duringihe above mentioned'hoist ing. and; lowerin of the. cradle over the side. W hen the, oracle has. been lowered sufliciently, the. turns'ot the trip. line are suddenly tightened about thewinch whilethe latter-is turning, instantly causing the trip line to runinboardover. the rail 25" and to jerk the dumping. line from 11001124 and draw it taut; This straightening of." the dumping line swings the cradle about pivots 22 through the bail: 19until: its center of gravity isoutboardrof theverticah plane of the pivots22, thus dumping the safety sheet. 'l hesheet, being considerably heavier than water,fwill assumea flat, verticallposition in the water opposite hole l2, and the inrush. of water air press its inner rubbersurface tightlyagainst the hull about hole 12, plugging the-hole. Thetendency of thesafety sheet to doubletup in thecenter and pass withthe. waterthroliglr the hole is overcome by. the struts28-which hold it stretched out. The wrapping of; the warp W es 34 about the. side. and auxiliary cables in aintains. them. against: longitudinal travel along those cables.- The auxiliary eables33 may besplicedrinto, wound'about, bolted against, or in any suitableamanner, not shown, may. be secured in positionron the side. cables. Inasmuch as the safety sheet is rolled about a honizontal' axis, the Warp wires 34 may be of suliieient diameter to give great strength to the fabric Without interfering with the rolling of the sheet. After the leaking ship has reached dry dock orbeen repaired from within, the cradle is hoisted on deck and the safety sheet rolled up and replaced in it.-

1. The combination with a safety sheet comprising a flexible waterproof Web, and a plurality of parallel struts all on the same side of the web and secured thereto by their ends only, an elongated cradle to one side of which thesheet is secured by an edge paralleling saidstruts, said cradle being of a size to contain said sheet when it is rolled up, and hoisting and lowering apparatusarranged to carry and dump the cradle.

2. The-combination with a flexible Web, of acradle adapted to contain the Web when it is rolled up, oneedge of the web being attached tothe outer side of. the cradle, a bail pivoted to the ends of the cradleat points in; substantial alinement with said outer side, a hook depending-from the cen ter of the bail above the cradle, a hoisting-"line supporting the bail, adumping line fixed to said outer side of the cradle, passingbeneath the latter-and caughtuponsaid hook, and atrip line for'lifting-the dumping line from the hook.

3-: A safety sheet for punctured hulls of vessels, comprising in combination, a pair of spaced coextensive vertical side cables, spaced horizontal Warp wires extending from one sidecable to the other, relatively lighter spaced flexible; weft. wires woven through said. warp Wires, an impervious blanket of flexible material supportedby the Warp and weft wires and within Whichsaid wires are embedded, anda plurality of? horizontal struts traversingthciblanket and securediattheir ends to said-side cables only.

4. The combination With a safety sheet skeleton comprising a plurality: of. spaced parallel coextensive struts, of a pair... of spaced side cables secured respectively to the-opposite ends ;ofsaid struts, an auxiliary cable at each ,juncture'of" a side cable and a strut, each auxiliary cable bridging the adjacent strut'and having its ends fixed to the adjacent sidecable, and Warp wires substantially paralleling the struts, secured to the auxiliary cables in the vicinity of each strut, and seeured to the sidecables between adjacent auxiliary cables of an impervious webcarried on said skeleton:-

MARTIN J. CHRISTENSEN c9B 5ci i$Pa 1 maybe obtained {fOI'vfiVsOBIlfiS eachgby addressing 313116 Commissionerxofi:Iatents,

WaShington D GP- 

